The employer was a supply-chain logistics company with a warehouse in Memphis. Temporary employees supplied by staffing agencies accounted for approximately 80% of its workforce. Although the employer’s employee handbook contained a sexual harassment policy, temporary employees were not given a copy of the handbook. The employer maintained that the relevant issues applicable to temporary employees were covered during their orientation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a sexual retaliation action against the company, alleging that a supervisor in the Receiving Department sexually harassed three female employees and retaliated against the women after they objected to his sexual advances. In addition, one male employee who supported the women’s complaints was terminated.

At a jury trial in federal court, the employer was found liable for sexual harassment and retaliation, and the victims were awarded compensatory and punitive damages of over $1.5 million dollars. The employer filed motions for a new trial. The motions were denied, and the employer then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The employer maintained that the women were not engaged in a protected activity prior to their termination, and there was no evidence of termination due to protected activity, or evidence that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference to any claimants’ federally protected rights. Title VII prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who has either opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice, or made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing involving Title VII claims.

The evidence indicated that the employer usually trained its new employees for two weeks and then gave them a month or two to adjust to the department. The supervisor in Receiving admitted that he transferred two of the women to the Returns Department, warning their new supervisor that the workers talked more than they worked. He admitted that he was responsible for talking to their supervisor and getting them fired.

An employer is vicariously liable for a supervisor’s harassment of an employee under the supervisor’s authority when the harassment results in a tangible employment action. A tangible employment action is any action effecting a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits. When a party proves that a tangible employment action resulted from a refusal to submit to a supervisor’s sexual demands, he or she established that the employment decision itself constitutes a change in the terms and conditions of employment that is actionable under Title VII. In the absence of a tangible employment action, an employer may still be held liable for harassment unless the employer affirmatively shows that it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior and the party unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer to avoid harm or otherwise.

The appeals court affirmed the decision. The employer’s liability for the terminations was premised on a theory of “cat’s paw liability” in which the relevant decision makers were conduits of the supervisor in the Receiving Department and his retaliatory animus after his sexual harassment was brought into the open. To prevail on this theory, the EEOC only had to show that the retaliatory animus of the biased supervisor influenced the decision maker.

Richard Busch was quoted in The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today about his representation of Jillian Michaels and prevailing against Lion’s Gate. Read the articles here:The Hollywood ReporterUSA Today

Richard Busch interviewed by the BBC in London about U.S. Copyright Law and some of the recent cases on which he has worked. Listen to the interview here.

Richard Busch was cited in The Hollywood Reporter about Ed Sheeran settling the lawsuit over the hit song Photograph.Read the article here.

Eddie Wayland was featured in an article in the Tennessee Trucking News magazine, the official magazine of the Truckload Carriers Association.Read the article here.

Doug Piercewas quoted in the Nashville Post regarding King & Ballow’s victory over the City of Nashville; at issue was the ‘promptness’ for producing records under the Tennessee Public Records Act. A judge ruled the City violated the statute.Read the article here.

Richard Busch was quoted on Law.com about his legal background, experience with copyright infringement cases, and the ‘Blurred Lines’ appeal.Read the article here.

King & Ballow congratulates Eddie Wayland for being named to the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of: Employment Law - Management, First Amendment Law, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment and Transportation Law. Mr. Wayland has been consistently recognized by his peers and named to the publication for over 25 years.Read more here.

Richard Busch most recently obtained a favorable decision by the United States Court of Appeals, reversing the district court, and holding that the author of the "Iron Man Theme" from Marvel's "Iron Man" television show, and movies, had submitted sufficient evidence that his creation was not a "work for hire" in order to proceed to trial on his copyright infringement claim. The full decision can be accessed here.

King & Ballow congratulates Eddie Wayland for being featured in an article in the Tennessee Trucking News magazine, the official magazine of the Truckload Carriers Association.Read the article here.

King & Ballow congratulates Richard Busch for being named to Billboard Magazine’s 2016 “Music Industry's Top Lawyers.”Read more here.

Richard Buschwas quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine on the new 'Stairway to Heaven' case.Read the article here.

Eddie Wayland is featured in the Truckload Authority magazine, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association in the article, “Labor Pains: New Labor Laws Could Cause You Pain If You Are Not Prepared.” Read the article here.Richard Busch takes on another high-profile copyright infringement case.Read the article here.

King & Ballow congratulates Eddie Wayland for being named to the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, wherein the top 4% of attorneys in the country are recognized. Mr. Wayland has been consistently named to the publication for over 25 years.Read more here.

King & Ballow congratulates Richard Busch for being named to Billboard Magazine’s 2015 “Music's Most Powerful Attorneys,” where he was one of only four litigators named.Read more here.

Richard Busch was a featured litigator in Billboard Magazine regarding the “Blurred Lines” case.Read the article here.

Richard Busch appeared on America’s Newsroom this morning to discuss Bill Cosby’s 2005 admission to purchasing Quaaludes to drug women.Watch the video here.

Richard Busch is frequently asked to discuss legal issues on Fox Business News. He recently appeared to discuss the class action lawsuits filed against Manny Pacquiao, and others, related to the alleged non-disclosure of a shoulder injury prior to the fight against Floyd Mayweather.Watch the video here.

King & Ballow congratulates Paul Duvall for being named to Martindale Hubbell Top Lawyers list for Wage & Hour for 2014 and 2013. Click here to read the article.

King & Ballow congratulates Richard S. Busch for being named to the Hollywood Reporter's 2013 list of the top 100 entertainment lawyers in the United States. This is the second year in a row Mr. Busch has been so honored. Mr. Busch, who has been with King & Ballow since 1991, is the partner in charge of the Firm's Entertainment and Intellectual Property sections.Click here to read the article.

Steve Douse was quoted in the article, National Newspaper Association Challenges Valassis, Inc. | Post Deal in Federal Court. Regarding competition with the USPS, Douse said, “It forces firms to compete with the Postal Service and Valassis with one hand tied behind their backs.”Click here to read the article

Richard Busch'sForbes Magazine article, Fighting For The Right To Superman's Copyright: More Brutal Than Anything Lex Luthor Could Have Imagined Click here to read the full article.